Ireland is 'moving closer' to a Living Wage as the minimum wage increases in the New Year.
Enterprise Minister Simon Coveney was speaking as the minimum wage will rise to €12.70 from January 1st 2024.
To help offset the increased costs to business, a once-off Increased Cost of Business Scheme was announced as part of Budget 2024.
The scheme will see grants going to some 130,000 small and medium businesses at a cost of €250 million.
Minister Coveney told Newstalk firms need to be helped the same as households.
"Just like households are under pressure because of the cost of living, businesses are too," he said.
"We were anxious to get money to businesses to recognise that fact, and I wanted to keep it as simple as I possibly could.
"So, the businesses that are going to get financial support don't even have to apply for it.
"The way in which we're doing this is businesses that are paying rates this year, up to €20,000... they will get a grant in the first quarter of next year, which is up to about half of what they would have paid in rates this year.
"We know that 130,000 businesses across the country are paying rates up to €20,000 this year, and that's the cohort of small to medium-sized businesses that we're targetting".
Minister Coveney said increasing the minimum wage is the right thing to do.
"We have a strong recommendation from the Low Pay Commission that we should increase the minimum wage from €11.30 to €12.70," he said.
"That's quite a jump in one year but we do think it's justified.
"We're moving towards what's called a Living Wage by 2026, which is going to be calculated at 60% of the median wage in Ireland.
"So, by moving to €12.70, we'll get to over 55% of the median wage - we're close to getting to what's called a Living Wage.
"The whole point of that is to make sure that we have a floor below which nobody is paid," he added.
Reporting by: Andrew Lowth
